Sixth Day of Christmas - The Hero's Dilemma
by Elsyra
Summary: Sixth story in the Twelve Days of Christmas series. Life is a strugglebus for poor Link. All he wants to do is save a nest of eggs from his hungry pirate friends. Will he save them? Or will poultry be on this year's Christmas menu? Set post-Wind Waker, before Phantom Hourglass. Tetra/Link friendship, general shenanigans. #Holiday Cheer #FriendshipisMagic #TropicalChristmas


A/N: Happy (almost) New Year, ya'all!

This is the **sixth** fic in my Twelve Days of Christmas jamboree. It may be read as a stand-alone. If you choose to check out other parts of this series, keep in mind that none of them technically need to be read in order _with the exception of_ days 9 and 10.

Please give a warm round of applause to AuroraBorealia, my fabulous bestie and beta reader!

This fic is set after Wind Waker and before Phantom Hourglass, while Tetra and the gang are chilling with Link on Outset Island.

Tags: 12 Days of Christmas, Geese a'laying, Friendship is Magic, Pirate Mischief.

Enjoy, friends!

* * *

 _On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..._

 _Six geese a'laying_

 _Five golden rings_

 _Four colly birds,_

 _Three French hens_

 _Two turtle doves_

 _And a partridge in a pear tree_

It was a warm, sunny day on the coast of Outset Island. A single pirate ship anchored in the harbor was the only disturbance on the otherwise smooth horizon.

Just off shore, a few old rowboats lay nestled in the sand, and behind them hid one small hero clad in green. He was watching Tetra's pirate crew with deep concern as they surrounded a pile of six sizeable eggs laid out on a burlap tarp.

He peered at his friends and counted them. One, two, three, four, five… where was Nudge?

 _Ah, yes_ , he remembered. _He's gone to work out his arms by climbing the cliffs again._ Man, that guy seriously needed to fit in a leg day and balance out his top-heavy frame. Link snickered and shifted slightly in his hiding place.

"These'll be perfect sunny-side up. I say we each cook one and give the last to the captain. It's only fair," Mako suggested, folding his arms (while holding his ever-present book, of course).

Gonzo glared at him. "Nudge will whip us something fierce if we leave him out."

"He won't be back for ages. Finders keepers, I says!"

Niko pulled at the hem of Gonzo's olive green tunic. "What about the captain? I don't think she particularly likes eggs."

"Not true," Zuko spoke up immediately. Well, Zuko did notice just about any and every happening on the ship. If he said so, it must be true.

Senza's smile turned vicious as he fixed his attention on Niko, using his height to overshadow the little man. "Seeing as you're so greedy you would steal from our leader, I think _you_ should be excluded."

"Yeah!" Mako agreed. "It's decided. When the captain comes back, we'll have us a fine brunch."

Link frowned in his cramped crouching position. That didn't give him much time to launch his rescue. He had to make a distraction, but what?

His eyes zeroed in on the ship. If he made them think their cargo was in trouble, surely they would leave the eggs unguarded long enough for Link to snatch them. Taking advantage of their argument, he snuck onto the dock and approached the side of the vessel. Quietly drawing the Master Sword, he cut the ropes holding up the mainsail and then swung himself off the other side of the ship, where the others couldn't see.

Once he heard the pirates' enraged shouts, he seized his opportunity. He dashed ashore, gathered the eggs and his green cap, and ran home as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him.

When he burst through the door, he was completely out of breath. Grandma and Aryll were already there, slaving over a hot pot of Christmas stew stock.

"Where've you been, brother?" Aryll asked, setting their grandma's special wooden spoon down on the table. "You promised you would cook with us!"

Unable to explain his predicament in detail, Link held the hat open wide for them to see.

"Link, deary, those aren't mushrooms." Grandma let out breathy chuckle. "Oh, you rascal, I see. You're teasing me for all the pranks I pull on you. I'm glad to see you be less serious for once. Hmm, what do you think, Aryll-should we put eggs in the soup instead?"

Link jerked away from her, horrified.

" _Kidding!_ "

Rushing out the back door, Link ran all the way through town and up the cliffs. He had to find the nest that these eggs had come from. If he remembered right, it should be somewhere near the bridge.

Honestly, the mother should have been more careful when she picked her nesting spot; too many people passed close by. It was no wonder Mako had stolen the eggs.

They were very pretty, and too big to be cucco eggs. If Link's memory served him right, they had appeared a few weeks ago. He had never seen the mother before, only the eggs, all alone in the nest. He wasn't even sure if they were actually birds.

All he knew was that he was the hero, and a hero's job was to save these little-whatever creatures they were-before they ended up being someone's Christmas meal.

"Hey there, squirt." Tetra sat on a long tree limb a few meters above him. "Long time no see." She jumped down and landed right next to him. "Whatcha got there? Ooh, is it treasure!?"

Link clutched the cap full of eggs tightly against his chest and nodded.

"Let me see!"

He ran for it (again).

Poor Link almost made it back to town when he saw the rest of Tetra's pirate crew, now joined by Nudge, making a beeline for them both. He grimaced and turned back around, but Tetra had almost caught up to him. Left with no other choice but to accept his best friend's ire later on, he dug into his pocket and retrieved his boomerang. He hit his target, tripping Tetra up just long enough so that he could dash behind her and head back towards the bridge.

When he got there, Link frantically searched the bushes for the nesting spot, but they all looked the same! He couldn't find the exact spot.

He was too late; Tetra and her crew surrounded him, demanding that he share the eggs. _As if I would eat these poor babies!_

"We found them fair and square!"

"I'm hungry!"

"Sharing is caring-it's _Christmas!_ "

"Give up the goods, kid."

This was it; he pulled out his sword and brandished it in front of himself, hoping it would be enough to hold them off. He worried that if one of them tried to grab the eggs, they might crack. As it was, Link feared that the babies inside might have suffered from too much time away from their mother and their warm, insulated nest.

All of a sudden, out of the trees flew a swarm of large birds. Grey, black, and white in color, they had long necks and made loud honking sounds. They descended upon the men at once, sending them flailing and screaming back to the ship.

Tetra, clever as ever, had hidden in the bushes the very moment they attacked. The birds paid her no notice; instead, their dark, forlorn eyes were focused on young Link and his bulging cap.

Slowly and gently, Link laid them out on the ground. There were six mother birds in total, and each of them found their respective egg, and sat atop it.

A few minutes later, when Link and Tetra walked down the beach, the pirate leader fixed her friend with a curious look. "Sooooo. Why didn't you just tell Gonzo these were yours?"

Link glared at her. _Can't speak, duh._

Tetra laughed and folded her arms, throwing her friend a cat-like wink. "You could have wrote on the sand! If you told him the eggs were about to hatch, he would have realized that we couldn't possibly eat them. You know that, right?"

 _Wait, for real!?_ Link's eyes bugged out in frustration and humiliation. When he slapped a palm to his forehead, it made a loud smacking noise and Tetra's laughter doubled.

"Wow, you're such a dummy! Hahahahaha."

Bending down to the sandy ground, Link wrote two words in the sand: _Princess Zelda._

Tetra gasped, which then turned into an angry growl. "TAKE IT BACK!"

Link shook his head and ran. They spent the rest of Christmas chasing each other around the island to exact mutual revenge.

The crew apologized to Link 'specially for the occasion. They all ate Grandma's famous mushroom stew, sang songs, and planned to go see the chicks as a group once they hatched.

Gonzo held up his mug of fruit cider. "Three cheers to Link, the Hero of Christmas!"

"Hear, hear!"

* * *

I'm totally cool with fics in which Link is given a voice, but I find it fun and interesting to write stories in which he still cannot (or will not) speak.

Feel free to spread some holiday cheer in the comments if you like. Any and all flames will fuel the fire by which my characters snuggle with their significant others (and friends!).

Happy holidays and best of luck coming up with your New Year's resolutions! The key is to go in with a solid plan. :)


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